My wifes Recon has about 4 hours on the motor. The choke lever appears to work. The first start of the day, with full choke applied the machine will not idle without some throttle being applied. It doesn't matter whether its full, half or no choke. It takes about 5 minutes to "warm" up, the
whole time you have to give it some throttle or it will die. Temperature is in 48-52 range.

 

once it breaks in is should idle better when cold..otherwise raise the idle a tad
JOe

 

Unfortunately, I expereinced the same problems with my Recon. My local dealer told me that the choke mechanism on the Recon is completly different from that of other Honda products and that there was really nothing to do about it.

My suggestion is throttle start it for about 45 sec. and ease the choke out, just a very little bit, it should hold. Othere than that, my brother had great success with lifting the choke all the way out, depressing the throttle, reducing the choke to barely open and starting the quad.

It is a rather cold natured quad, but once it is going it's the best in it's class and one of the best all around utilites.

Good luck.

 

I own a ’97 Recon and noticed the same problem when trying to start it in mild to cold weather. You have to nurse the throttle for 3-5 minutes before it will settle out and idle on its own. However, a friend recommended changing the spark plug from a DPR8EA-9 to a DPR8EVX-9 (platinum tip version, same heat range, exact replacement). This change made a noticeable improvement while the engine is cold. It reduced the “nursing” time by about half and it does not “spit and sputter” near as long. This spark plug can be purchased for about $7-$8 from most of the mail order companies. I also found one at the local Kawasaki dealership.

 

Allenp,

Thanks, I will try the platnum spark plug solution. Thanks.